New graduate nurse competencies—Part I: Perceptions of academic faculty and acute care hospital practice leaders in the State of Maryland

Background

Understanding practice readiness of newly graduated nurses (NGNs) is of great importance for both nursing academic faculty and hospital-based practice leaders. Gaining clarity of the realistic core competencies practice leaders can expect of NGNs upon starting their professional practice facilitates ongoing growth and development of these NGNs.

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to understand the perceptions of nursing academic faculty and practice leaders of NGNs’ readiness for practice and competency at the start of their professional nursing practice. The researchers intended to identify the core competencies of NGNs upon completion of their prelicensure nursing program regardless of type.

Methods

A statewide nursing practice–academic and mixed-method research study, employing a survey of 109 items and virtual focus groups, and using a purposive sample of nursing academic faculty and hospital-based practice leaders.

Discussion

The study identified a set of 7 core competencies using an 85% agreement threshold and an additional 11 core competencies using a 75% threshold by both nursing academic faculty and hospital-based practice leaders as realistic expectations of NGNs at the time of starting their professional practice roles.

Conclusion

Nursing academic faculty and hospital-based practice leaders had different perceptions of NGNs’ readiness for practice and competency. This study confirmed the continued academic-practice gap and provided a clearer direction forward to address this gap. It also supported the phenomenon of competency-based education to occur as a continuum that starts with nursing students and continues into new-to-practice nurses (NGNs) and ultimately competent professional nurses.